11/03/18 - CAMRA Pub Ticking in Manchester's Northern Quarter

We spent 45 Minutes waiting for a bus that never turned up.   Not an ordinary bus, but a Manchester Music bus tour.   Still need to get to the bottom of what happened here, but we did make friends from Australia.

Never mind, with my hobbies, alternative entertainment can always be found.  We'll add to the two Manchester pub ticks we collected back on October last year.

Port Street Beerhouse, Port Street, Hawkshead Brewery Bitter

Mrs M is still coming to terms with musical let down.  She had prepared a playlist and everything for the journey up.   Her mood was not improved by having to wait for the door bolt to scrape, as we were there 15 minutes early for a midday opening.

Mrs M composing a strongly worded email to her MP

You can tell instantly what sort of a Hipster paradise this will be just from the outside.   Inside, its a nice cafe bar but only if you like Jazz.

Never sure what to have when first into a pub.   I think bottle but the menu quickly suggests, think something else.

Manchester has beer the strength of wine for £25 a bottle

The barman senses my apprehension and asks what I am after.  All I do is manage to insult him by saying I'm unsure of having the very 1st cask pint of the day.   He assures me he has spent 20 minutes pulling them all through.

And its a Thumbs Up from Mappiman

Pie and Ale, Northern Quarter Arcdade, Nothing

Not open on a Sunday, but I'm giving it a tick as we walked there and saw the sights.

Northern Quarter Sights

Think it does what it says on the Tin

The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Cumbria Way

Oh yes, the day has peaked at pub 2.   What a delight.  200 years of Grade II listed beauty worn well.

Our sort of place

Beautiful

Mrs M cheers up when there is a jukebox.  We get into a battle of the tunes with oldies celebrating Mothers day and their 65th Wedding Anniversary.   We win, we selected "The Queen is Dead" to their Nina Simone.

Cracking pub, worthy of exploration.  Haunted hotel corridor leads to a back room stage where they have spoken word recitals and music.

Could have spent the day

Smithfield Market Tavern, Swan Street, Hawkshead Windermere Pale

The rest of the Team turn up, which means my rounds have doubled.   We head to another traditional boozer, done out nicely and they are very serious about their beer and meat based snacks.   Sausage Rolls come with tiny onions and gherkins.

Team Mappiman

I'll forever remember this as the place where my son shunned reassuringly expensive continental lager and took his first real ale.

Rating?  Floral.

The Marble Arch Inn, 73 Rochdale Road, Marble Arch Bitter

Next visit needs no introduction to real ale fans, although you do need to convince two Millennials that a 10 minute walk does not require an Uber.

Remainder of Team Mappiman attempting to recreate the artwork from the Queen is Dead

Gorgeous beers, gorgeous surrounding, every table is reserved for what must be gorgeous Sunday lunches.  But with the party arrival times indicated, its easy to squat for a while.

Who wouldn't love this as their local?

The City Arms, 46 Kennedy Street, Moorhouse Brewery Pride of Pendle

With some good ticking work completed in the Northern Quarter, we relent and allow an Uber to whisk us away to the City Centre.

A touch of culture with a visit to the John Rylands Library.  It was almost as ornate as the Marble Arch.

Three nearby pubs line up next to each other - A Wetherspoons, the handsome Vine and the one that needs a tick as its in the Bible.

Three is the magic number

It's a perfect City Centre pub, traditional to the point of having a dart board.  Great attention to drink options and the Millennials spot the Gin Blackboard.

Thank God for contactless.